Thursday, September 25, 2008

Who is Akbar Manoussi the Ottawa/Vanier Green Party candidate and what is his relationship with the Iranian embassy1. Akbar Manoussi receives millions of dollars to establish a Cultural Center in 2 Robinson St. for the Iranian embassy in Ottawa.
The Ottawa Sun 21, 02, 1999 by Kathleen Harris:
” A corporation report obtained from the province’s Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations names Ottawa Lawyer Alain Dubuc as the administrator of Fatima Cultural Activities Inc., the purchaser of the Crown property. An employee from his office produced two names of local people involved in the cultural center project- including Akbar Manoussi. When contacted, Manoussi said the project, which will house a library and cultural activities, was financed by private donations from “various channels” across North America. He did not know of any direct support – financial or otherwise – from the Iranian government. “They can’t afford it economically,” he said. “There are many projects not taking place there because of the economy.” Aware of opposition from some local Iranians, Manoussi insisted their worries are unfounded. “There are many people who are neutral about the government” he said. “These people may be emotional about the politics and a little violent in their opposition of the government. But they don’t have to get emotionally disturbed about it. “There are some problems back home – let’s leave them there.” But soon after he was informed about evidence linking the center to the Iranian government, Manoussi ended the interview and asked that his comments not be attributed to him since his role in the project was “very small.”“My knowledge is not very much – I just heard about it,” he said. “There are other people who are more involved.” “
To find out more regarding the “cultural center” located at 2 Robinson St., please read the entire report below:
(The actual copies of the newspaper is at the bottom of the page)

IRANIAN exiles fear the terrorist
Threat which drove them from their
Homeland is finding its way to Ottawa.

A proposed mosque and cultural center in Sandy Hill- supported by the government of the Islamic Republican of Iran – has stirred emotional protest from members of the local Iranian- Canadian community.

Many are convinced the center will be used as a site to gather information on political dissidents and even to plot terrorist activities in North America. “This is very dangerous for any Iranian in Ottawa” said Khanak Eshghi-Sanati, who earned a PhD in political science from the university in Iran’s capital city of Tehran. “This is a bad situation for Iranian people. It is not good- especially for political refugees.”
The 2 Robinson St. property stretches 2.3 hectares at the northwest corner of Chapel Cres. And Lees Ave. Documents from the provincial land registry office show the site was sold by the National Capital Commission to Fatima Cultural Activities Inc. on sep. 28, 1998 for $1.6 million.
NCC spokeswoman Catherine Schellenberg said the federal property sale was “cleared” by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade because the transaction involved a foreign government.
“It is customary for all foreign government, and in this case the numbered company is owned by the Iranian government,” she said. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has “no jurisdiction over the matter since the Crown land was transferred to a legally incorporated Canadian company. Spokesman Andre Lemay said departmental lawyers examined the matter and advised that foreign affairs would only become involved if a diplomatic function was proposed for the site.
A building permit application was filed with the City of Ottawa on Feb. 2 for interior renovations worth $136,000 on an existing building on the property. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the applicant named on that document.
But a diplomat with the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, who refused to reveal his name, insisted yesterday the Islamic government’s role in the project is “very minimal”. “We try to help them in some ways. But in fact, financially very little – it’s almost like nothing,” he said.
The embassy official could not explain why the NCC had said the numbered company was owned by the Iranian government.
“Maybe they imagined that,” he said.
Aware of the controversy swirling around the project, he accused its opponents of “trying to make some problems” and misleading people with propaganda. He dismissed the notion that the centre might be used to exert Iranian government influences in Canada.
“If there was something for propaganda, give us evidence. I know that they lie. They are just against anything Iranian.” He said.
A lack of funding means the proposed mosque won’t likely be built for several years, but the cultural centre will be used as a social gathering place and educational facility for Iranians who may be feeling homesick, he said.
“There is Persian lessons for small children- is that terrorist activities?” he asked.
Still, many political refugees living in Ottawa are burdened with the question of how- or why- a legitimate cultural center for Iranians would be established without the knowledge of the local community. The project has been in the works for about two years, but many well-connected community members say there has been no word of it in Iranian publications or on cultural radio broadcasts.
“I felt safe in Canada because it is democracy. I felt free in Canada. But this is very dangerous. If it was for Iranian people, why wouldn’t we know about it?” asked Eshghi-Sanati.
Arriving in Ottawa to work at the Iranian embassy in 1975, Eshghi-Sanati remained in Canada after the 1979 revolution which toppled the ruling monarchy. The author of 13 books- many of them critical of Iran’s Islamic regime-believes the center will be a base for information gathering on political dissidents like himself.
“This is so called house of culture is not true. It will be a house of terror,” he said.
This month, as the Islamic Republic of Iran government marks its 20th year in power, the country has strict Islamic laws and suffers from corruption, high inflation and unemployment. There have been many reports of Iranian dissidents being executed at home and abroad.
There is no Iranian embassy in the U.S., which has maintained a stormy relationship with the Islamic state.
Liberal MP Mauril Belanger, whose riding includes the Sandy Hill site, is investigating the matter and would not comment until he has more facts.
“I have asked for information from the relevant authorities and until then I will not comment,” he said.
Belanger would not disclose which authorities he had contacted, but said he hopes to receive information “as soon as possible.” “I’m waiting. I hope it will only be a matter of days,” he said.
Marcia Wetherup, spokeswoman for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, could not comment on any specific operations of the service and would not confirm or deny if CSIS is investigating the situation at 2 Robinson St.
Ottawa Coun. Stephane Emard- Chabot is also eagerly waiting for answers about the property in his ward.
During the public planning process last year, typical questions were posed by neighbors about potential noise and parking. But the project raised new and unexpected concerns for the Councillor when he began to receive calls from members of the Iranian community who felt threatened by possible “surveillance and reprisals.” Many also feared terrorist activities would be planned at the center.
“I’m concerned because of the number of concerns I heard and because of what sounded like real fear in their voices,” he said.
Emard-Chabot relayed his concerns to the NCC and to the riding MP.
“I hope the NCC did its homework,” he said.

A corporation report obtained from the province’s Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations names Ottawa lawyer Alain Dubuc as the administrator of Fatima Cultural Activities Inc., the purchaser of the Crown property.An employee from his office produced two names of local people involved in the cultural center project- including Akbar Manoussi.When contacted, Manoussi said the project, which will house a library and cultural activities, was financed by private donations from “various channels” across North America. He did not know of any direct support- financial of otherwise- from the Iranian government.“They can’t afford it economically,” he said. “There are many projects not taking place there because of the economy.”Aware of opposition from some local Iranians, Manoussi insisted their worries are unfounded.“There are many people who are neutral about the government,” he said.

“These people may be emotional about the politics and a little violent in their opposition of the government. But they don’t have to get emotionally disturbed about it.“There are some problems back home- let’s leave them there.”But soon after he was informed about evidence linking the center to the Iranian government, Manoussi ended the interview and asked that his comments not be attributed to him since his role in the project was “very small.”“My knowledge is not very much- I just heard about it,” he said.“There are other people who are more involved.”Reza Shams, who runs an Iranian radio program as a sidling to his small business operation, thought he had found a safe haven in Canada in 1989.
But Shams- a pseudonym he uses on radio shows and in published articles because of fear of reprisal to him and his family members- feels increasingly threatened by the government- supported centre.
“This is a big irony. We come here to be safe. We escape from there, but they come to us,” he said.
A member of the Concerned Iranian Action Committee of Ottawa Carleton which was formed to oppose the cultural center project, Shams is one of about 60 people who will hold a demonstration outside Robinson St. site this afternoon.
The cultural center is a front for a facility which will be used to control lives, he said, firmly rejecting any possibility that another Iranian community members living in Ottawa would participate in cultural activities at a center linked to the Islamic government.
“If the Iranian government is involved, it is impossible,” he said. “It is not logical. If we escape, why would they build us a community center? And they don’t have the resources for this. If they spend so much, there is something very special behind it for them.”
A civil engineer and political refugee who fled to Canada 1987, Shams agrees there is much to fear in the activities at the center. The Islamic regime is well known for keeping a watchful eye on political dissidents, but he believes the purpose of this building could be even more dangerous. “This will be the base for all of North America,” he said.
As a human rights activist in Iran, he spoke out against the fundamentalist regime after he learned the schools he helped build were being used as prisons. He doesn’t want his name used for fear of repercussions.
“If you give them the house to build their plans under the guise of the Iranian community here, you give them the freedom to move these people and govern the people,” he said.
“You’ll never have %100 answers until something happens.”
John Thompson, executive director of the Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute which studies political instability and threats of violence, said local concerns are justified. But he suspects the centre may be used more for “grey” activities like exerting Iranian influence, propaganda and even watching dissidents than “black” activities like terrorism.
Typically, terrorist activities will be distanced from funding sources by several layers of “cut-outs” which create a group that has no corporate identity, he said.
“They may be wrestling for influence,” he said. “It may be outlet for propaganda- a fight for the hearts and minds. But anything more sinister than that, it’s impossible to say.”
The Iranian government has established a “major intelligence” in Europe and has silenced and killed dissidents there, Thompson said. For that reason, government opponents living in Canada have reason to be afraid.
“If I had no love of the Iranian government, I’d certainly be keeping my children out of there,” he said of the centre.
Conservative Sen. William Kelly, who chaired a senate committee on national security and intelligence, stressed the importance of not “pointing the finger in every direction.” But he said Canada must be “unusually alert” because of the nation’s leaky refugee determination process and its status as a “soft target” for terrorist.
“I don’t know enough about it yet, but I certainly think they should be looking at it very closely,” said Kelly, who has only recently learned of the Robinson St. project.
He said it’s easier to get into Canada and move around freely than in any other Western nations.
“That really leaves us open to all kinds of bases from which terrorist activities can be directed from Canada,” he said. “That’s a thing we’ve got to be concerned about. I’m not suggesting that this is the situation here, but I’m suggesting it has the potential for it.” He could not comment on whether local fears are justified, but encouraged concerned individuals to file reports with CSIS. “Let’s hope they’re wrong,” he said.
Ron Gracey, who served as an adviser to Senator Kelly, said terrorists often enter Canada to escape hunts by police or security forces of other nations. Others come for temporary “respite” before moving on, he said.
“Canada is not a target of terrorist attacks, it’s more a venue of opportunity where those groups or representatives organize funding, organize attacks abroad, uses safe houses,” he said.
Gracey said it would be “exceptional” for the Iranian government to allow itself to be publicly identified on documents if the center were to be used for “bad things,” but couldn’t guess why the government would be financing the center.
“I just don’t know what the Islamic Republic of Iran is doing engaged in what amounts to private activities,” he said.
Escaping to Turkey in 1988 where the UN helped move him to Canada, a small business operator now living in Ottawa is convinced he will once again be under the close watchful eye of the Iranian government.
“Right now, they will try to do what seems right,” Said the man who was kept as a political prisoner for two years in Iran. “But in the future I am sure they will bring their gown from under the coat. In the future, the Canadian government will have a problem.”

An English sign attached to the building reads “Iranian cultural Centro” but in the Iranian regime’s official websites this center has a different name such as: ( Markaze Farhangie Iranian and Farhangsaraye Iranian).

3. Akbar Manoussi, calling himself the member of “science council of Carleton u” and the “Director of Iranian Cultural Centro” in Ottawa, gets reward from the Iranian official and becomes the honorary councillor to the Assembly of the newly established Aras Institute inside Iran. http://arasfz.epr.ir/2007/01/

To make it short, it’s absolutely obvious that Mr. Manoussi is affiliated with the Iranian embassy and is in fact an active supporter of the Iranian terrorist regime. His so called “Cultural Centre” is essentially a gathering place for the Iranian regime embassy in Ottawa and the official website (http://www.farhangeiran.com/index.htm) of the Iranian embassy reflects parts of his activities. He is doing many things (including spreading the Iranian regime’s culture and ideology among Iranian and Muslim Canadians) that the Canadian law doesn’t allow the Iranian officials to do directly. So Mr. Manoussi acts like a middleman for the Iranian regime’s embassy in Canadian society.